October 2008
Gym alternatives?
I've been off and on with gym memberships for years. Sometimes I feel like it's really worthwhile but othertimes they just don't seem to be worth the money. What options exist for fitness, especially considering areas that have a long winter like Chicago?
Avoiding the winter blues
I like to snowboard but I don't go on many trips because they're usually expensive and I have to fly to the good mountains. I'm at a loss for what to do that's fun during the winter. There are always games and movies and such for indoor entertainment but other than going to bars, what else is good to avoid the winter blues?
Wanted: Vintage Framed Mirror
I'm interested in a vintage framed mirror - hopefully under $100. Please contact me if you have one for sale.
Thanks!
On the Road - Semi-healthy Fast Food
I am forced to commute 40 miles for every day for work and so I end up eating a lot of meals on the road. This is certainly not my favorite habit but it's just a fact of the matter and so I'm dealing with it in the best way I can, which is to try to find the least evil food that's available to me. I've compiled a list of cheap, partially healthy foods that can be found on nearly any road trip in the US. I say partially or semi healthy because this is really just going for less of the bad things like sodium and fat and doesn't really address adding nutrition.
Closets
We have 3 closets in our condo. One in the main entry way which is deep, tall and narrow. One in the main bedroom which is walk-in but still narrow. The last is in our second bedroom and is very wide, tall and shallow. We went to a closet design place and looked at designer/compartmental closets. They gave us a quote of around $1800 for just the second bedroom closet.
Short of building the closet shelving myself, does anyone know a better alternative? Our second bedroom closet is the worst and really is inefficient. We do need better organization but that price is really high.
Early Voting?
I'm going to be out of town on election day. Anyone know how to do early voting in Chicago?
Big Open Wall Suggestions?
We've got a large open space on one wall of our place. On an adjacent wall we've got a window and some prints framed (see here for photos). We were thinking we could put up a big mirror as it would help open up the room but they seem really expensive. A large canvas print might also be cost prohibitive and would maybe take away from the small prints on the other wall.
Advice?
Hello from Chicago
My name is Robert Green and I've been living in Chicago for about 8 years. I've lived in Logan Square or Bucktown nearly the whole time. Currently I live with my girlfriend and our dog (Border Collie/Pointer) in a small condo. It's a little tight but we're making it work and I look forward to giving and getting some advice from everyone on how to make things even better.
A little art really warms the place up
We moved into our place about a year ago and it's been a long process getting everything organized. We've had the basic furniture since we moved in and have had a little painting done but up until recently the walls have been stark. We were wanting some art up to make it feel a little more like home but we're not really in a position to be spending a lot on it at the moment. Fortunately she found some nice prints that didn't end up costing too much. Combine that with some cheap frames from Target and Joann Fabric and we had everything up within a few weeks!
Photos are below: